By Luke Voogt
Local efforts to provide thousands of hats to nurses on the frontline against COVID-19 have gone global, according to the Anglesea pensioner co-ordinating the drive.
About 1700 volunteers have made 12,000 hats for nurses at 25 hospitals across Australia, including University Hospital Geelong, Deb Elliot said on Wednesday.
They plan to make thousands more and have also sent a box of hats to a hospital in London, according to Deb.
“And we’re about to send another batch to London,” she said.
“I can’t believe how quickly this has expanded – it’s like Christmas; every time I look out my door, I’ve got more hats.
“There’s more sewers out there too because they enlist their mums, daughters and friends.”
Deb updated the Independent on the efforts after she was selected as one of six Barwon Region Volunteer Ambassadors for 2020.
“I’m absolutely thrilled, proud and honoured,” she said.
The program’s organisers, GenU, Volunteering Geelong and Humans in Geelong, will announce the other five ambassadors during National Volunteer Week beginning next Monday.
Deb said the initiative gave people who are feeling “frightened” and “helpless” a chance to help health professionals fight the coronavirus.
She said co-ordinating the efforts gave her similar “purpose” during the pandemic and was the “perfect” use of her 40 years’ experience in IT.
The hats add to existing personal protective equipment (PPE) and help protect health professionals, particularly those with long hair, and their families against coronavirus.
